Mark Reads ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’: Chapter 5

In the fifth chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, the group arrives at Frodo’s new “house” to discuss the creepy thing that’s following them, and in the process, Frodo is shocked to discover just how much his friends know about him. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Lord of the Rings.

CHAPTER FIVE: A CONSPIRACY UNMASKED

Okay, this is fantastic. This book is already so much better than The Hobbit, in execution and in the writing, in the story and the characters, and this chapter is a clear sign that I am completely and utterly unprepared for what this book is going to do to me.

What I can tell at this point is that there’s a pervasive darkness settled over this story, and the joy and loyalty of the hobbits is what allows them to break through it. I always sort of figured there’d be a “good” ending for The Hobbit; to be fair, I was surprised by how creepy some scenes were, and I definitely didn’t expect that much death. But The Fellowship of the Ring has a much more constant sense of dread than the last book, and I think this chapter is a good indication of that. This is not a there-and-back journey, as Frodo says later, and this is not just a simply adventure. This is fucked up.

I get the chance to truly meet Merry Brandybuck in chapter five, and during that process, Tolkien shares the history of Buckland. I haven’t been spoiled for this book on nearly 99% of what’s in it, but I know that many people over the years assured me this was a dense and difficult experience. As a reader, I’m fairly patient, and the same goes for watching films or television. I don’t need things to rush into action, and I generally enjoy when a work of fiction invests time in setting up the plot and the characters. Essentially, I love a well-executed slow burn.

In regards to The Lord of the Rings, I’d heard that’s not what this is. I’d heard it was so dense that it was akin to reading the fifth chapter of Genesis. AND THIS HOBBIT BEGAT THAT HOBBIT AND THEN ORCS BEGAT MORE ORCS AND THEN BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. So, if I can be completely honest, when I read, “Long ago Gorhendad Oldbuck, head of the Oldbuck family,” I braced myself. This is it, I thought. Cue forty pages about the history of Buckland. And then that doesn’t happen. Instead, it’s actually a concise history, it’s entertaining, and it greatly helped me picture the place in my head. I was shocked! I suppose I’m being premature about this, as there might be a seventy-page info dump coming up, but I am really satisfied with the way that Tolkien writes this. To me, it doesn’t seem dated nearly as much as I anticipated.

It helps, of course, that the plot of this book is a lot more thrilling in its execution. I love that once the Ferry reaches the other side of the river, Sam notices that the same black-hooded figure on the bank they came from. What the hell? Tolkien actually uses the appearance to frame the remainder of the chapter with tension: it’s only going to be a matter of time before they hear the hoof beats again, even if there’s a river in his way this time. It makes everything that follows this that much more intense because there’s not much time available to just sit around and do nothing.

Yet there are still so many small, emotional moments for the characters amidst the threat of capture. The first is when Frodo arrives at his new house in Buckland; the experience is surreal for him because it’s all his stuff that Bilbo gave him, so there’s an element of familiarity to it all, but it’s in this strange new environment. It causes him to almost…I don’t know…regret what he’s doing? Here’s this nice home in Buckland, and he’s going to have to abandon it for an unknown period of time; he may very well never return from this journey. (I sort of doubt that, personally.)

But the moment passes and I can’t help but laugh that Frodo’s doubt is alleviated by bath time. Bless my beard, this book is wonderful. There’s triple bath time, there’s a feast of mushrooms, which I very much want to partake in, and then the group, including Fatty Bolger, gets down to the real shit. It’s unavoidable at this point, but the group has a lot of questions for Frodo about what the hell is going on, and why some black rider is following them and constantly asking for BAGGINS.

The genius of this is that I totally fell for it. I saw Frodo dodge the questions he was asked, trying to shift the blame to “Bilbo’s old adventures,” and that’s when Merry is the first to knock me flat out of shock:

‘I can’t keep it dark any longer. I have got something to tell you all. But I don’t know quite how to begin.’

‘I think I could help you,’ said Merry quietly, ‘by telling you some of it myself.’

WHAT. WHAT. Merry???? What does he know???

Turns out he knows everything. No, that’s not correct. Everyone knows everything. Frodo is not exactly the most clever and clandestine hobbit in the world, and he certainly is unable to hide this entire plan of his to leave the Shire from the three hobbits who know him best. I laughed so hard when Pippin was like, “DUDE, WE HEAR YOU MUTTERING ABOUT LOOKING UPON THE SHIRE FOR THE LAST TIME.” Oh god, this is the very best plot twist in the world.

Wait, nope. That’s not correct. Obviously, Frodo’s fears and concerns about leaving the Shire are magnified by this new revelation, so he insists he must leave soon; he completely resists the idea that anyone should come with him, even regretting the fact that Sam is coming.

‘This is no treasure-hunt, no there-and-back journey. I am flying from deadly peril into deadly peril.’

‘Of course we understand,’ said Merry firmly. ‘That is why we have decided to come. We know the Ring is no laughing-matter; but we are going to do our best to help you against the Enemy.’

WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!?!!? HOW DOES HE KNOW ABOUT THIS??????

In one GENIUS moment of plotting, Tolkien reveals that EVERYONE IN THE GODDAMN ROOM HAS KNOWN ABOUT THE RING THE WHOLE FUCKING TIME. Do you realize how much I love this???? That means no time further in this book will be devoted to the discovery of Frodo’s true “quest.” It means that these characters are all on the same page regarding the future. It means that Merry saw Frodo disappear in front of his eyes.

!!!!!!!! THERE IS SO MUCH EXCITEMENT COURSING THROUGH MY VEINS RIGHT NOW !!!!!!!!!!

‘I kept my knowledge to myself, till this spring when things got serious. Then we formed our conspiracy; and as we were serious, too, and meant business, we have not been too scrupulous. You are not a very easy nut to crack, and Gandalf is worse. But if you want to be introduced to our chief investigator, I can produce him.’

‘Where is he?’ said Frodo, looking round, as if he expected a masked and sinister figure to come out of a cupboard.

‘Step forward, Sam!’ said Merry; and Sam stood up with a face scarlet up to the ears.

BLESS MY BEARD, THIS BOOK JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER. It’s interesting how Tolkien treats this; first of all, he allows Frodo to (rightly) feel a bit betrayed, unsure of how to react to this. His friend has been spying on him? Technically, yes, he has, but his intent in doing so was part curiosity and part fear. The truth is that Sam, Pippin, and Merry fear losing their very best friend, and I really adore the way that Sam expresses this:

‘You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin–to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours–closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo. Anyway: there it is. We know most of what Gandalf has told you. We know a good deal about the Ring. We are horribly afraid–but we are coming with you; or following you like hounds.’

The sound I made at this was disgusting. In just five chapters, I already wanted to reach through the pages and just hug all of these characters. I thought this whole book was simply Frodo’s journey, and that he’d meet new characters along the way. Instead, these four hobbits will head out towards whatever unnamed, unknown peril awaits them, all of them unsure what it is they are going to do. That’s both exciting and kind of terrifying, and they all acknowledge it. It’s part of the risk.

It’s made all the better, of course, that Frodo decides to leave in the morning (and not any later) and to take the way out of Buckland through the Old Forest, leaving behind Fatty as a safeguard of sorts. Apparently he’ll essentially pretend to be Frodo in a way to buy the group more time. For me, though, I just can’t wait to get to the Old Forest because YOU KNOW IT’S GOING TO BE CREEPY AS HELL THERE. Oh, I am so excited.

But chapter five ends with a confusing bit of foreshadowing. I mean that in the sense of my own ignorance of this novel. I don’t know anything about the plot from here on out, so this is genuinely new to me. That night, Frodo has a dream that I can only imagine is prophetic in some way, and I think it’s tied to the fact that the Ring is hanging around his neck. Wherever he is in this dream, he can hear the sea and see a tall white tower. I can’t even guess what the tower is. A lookout point? Do they even have lighthouses in Middle-earth? I don’t even know.

287 Responses to Mark Reads ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’: Chapter 5

There are friends, and there are best friends. Friends are sorry to see you go when you say you have to leave the Shire and venture out in the midst of the greatest dangers… best friends conspire to go with you. Friends are sorry about your burden but glad it's not theirs when you have to carry the One Ring…. best friends will help you carry it. Friends say goodbye with the hope that there will be a hello again…. best friends don't, because they never say goodbye.

" It does not seem that I can trust anyone!' said Frodo. " 'It all depends on what you want,' put in Merry. 'You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin–to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours– closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo.' "

No, Merry, I'm afraid you are a bit mistaken…. You are not his friends. You are his best friends.

… I think it's also one of the things that arguably the film can actually do better than the book. Vg'f uneq gb _jevgr_ gur fnqarff va gurve rlrf be gur oernx va Cvccva'f ibvpr… gurl qb n ornhgvshy wbo.

Aww yeah, it's the Merry Brandybuck Appreciation Station. He may not be the Best Hobbit (that's a tossup between Bilbo and Sam) but he's still my favourite. He can spy on people who can turn invisible at will! And that person was BILBO BAGGINS, supreme badass. Merry owns.

I love how many songs they have. Songs for walking and drinking and bathing. I guess if it's worth doing it's worth singing about. But really it just shows how filled with joy all of their lives are.

Completely unrelated, but all the talk yesterday had me craving mushrooms in a big way. Then we went out to dinner with my boyfriend's family last night and the special at the restaurant was a three-mushroom risotto and it completely made my day.

I’d heard it was so dense that it was akin to reading the fifth chapter of Genesis
Nah, that'd be The Silmarillion 😉

I love this chapter so, so much and I'm glad that you do too! These hobbits, man. Amazing friends. They just fill me with this sense of "fuck yeah, strength and honour!" If that makes any sense. IDK, I just woke up.

I still have yet to make it all the way through the Silmarillion for that very reason. I want to, I keep trying, but it seems like an impossible task. I did make it all the way through the Bible once, but that was probably because I wasn't so interested in specifics like who begat whom. I am with Tolkien books, though!

I have read the Sil at least three times. Or more. I can't really keep track. But I love it! It's really worth the effort, in the end. You just have to marvel at the way the man built this whole world and mythology.

I will persevere – I remember gur perngvba ovg very fondly, it's beautiful. And I know I've read other bits though I forget exactly which. I'll probably invest in it on Kindle, as I find books strangely much easier to read on Kindle, and given extreme levels of exhaustion at the moment (depression, chronic illness, bad combo!) I need all the help I can get! Maybe a Christmas gift to myself…

When I told my dad (who has been a total Tolkien geek since he was a teenager) how much I struggled reading Lord of the Rings and ended up giving up, he said, "You should read The Silmarillion. Every few chapters it goes 'and he shall now be known as'. It's great. :D" …I shuddered, lol.

Hahaha, oh the Silmarillion. I love parts of it so very dearly but then fall asleep at others. I find if I bounce around and take it bit by bit, like I'm reading interesting parts of a history book, I can get through it. Granted I have no notion of the timelines, but whatever. There are some really awesome characters buried in all the words.

So much truth. I’ve studied Latin and Greek (including the original New Testament) and I can say with 100% subjective accuracy that The Silmarillion feels like it was translated from some ancient religious text into English.

The only way I can get through it is to read it aloud, but I get tired a few chapters in. One day, I’ll make it all the way through.

Seriously, I have wondered the same thing myself. Sometimes I think an easy-read-Tolkien-for-dummies of the whole thing would help. Even with TH and LOTR which I'd consider I know *reasonably* well there are still times when I realise I'd totally lost a bit somewhere along the line and have only just understood something REALLY IMPORTANT. I even get lost in the Wikipedia entries sometimes…

I love the Silmarillion. The Ainulindale is positively beautiful and is basically a lovelier and more poetic telling of the first chapter of Genesis.

There's a couple of chapters in the middle of Silmarillion proper that are just descriptions of the lay of the land and the geneologies, but you can skip the geographical one because most copies come with a map at that point. "The Flight of the Noldor" is an amazing and tragic chapter and probably my favourite. Beren and Luthien is a wonderful epic, and is even better if you get "The Lays of Beleriand" (book 3 in the History of Middle Earth series – the rest of the series are basically just Tolkien's old notes showing how his world and his books evolved, but Lays of Beleriand is really worthwhile) and read it in the poetic-edda form as well.

Oh, it's beautiful, and gives a lot of extra depth to Middle Earth and LotR, it's just very dense. I have to be in the right mindset to tackle it, or I just give up. Beren and Luthien is beautiful naq tvirf Nejra naq Nentbea'f fgbel gung rkgen yriry.

I didn't find it hard to read The Silmarillion, even the boring geography parts. But then again, I read the entire Bible (the Roman Catholic version, which means more books in the Old Testament than other Christian versions) and then the Koran in quick succession simply because I was bored and those were the only two books in the house that I haven't read yet that aren't geology textbooks.

(The only book I skipped was either Numbers or Leviticus, because even I had limits.)

"‘You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin–to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours–closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo. Anyway: there it is. We know most of what Gandalf has told you. We know a good deal about the Ring. We are horribly afraid–but we are coming with you; or following you like hounds.’"

And this is where I start to cry and fall in love with the whole damn bunch of them – but especially Sam <3

Isn't this chapter just the best? For a moment, we're alleviated from the sense of dread that's been following them around and everyone just… shines. And I love that they have a bath song! They have a song for *everything*! As much as I claim that I'm secretly a hobbit, I think I'd get kicked out because of my inability to sing without sounding like I'm murdering a bird…

Also, I'm glad that you FINALLY know that Merry and Pippin are coming along. I know it's only been five days since you started, but I feel like I've been holding onto this secret for ages. I've been rot13-ing all my comments about them, especially my love for Pippin, because I didn't want you to think that they had a bigger role than just getting Frodo set up in Buckland. But yay, you finally know! And aren't they just the BEST?

And Sam. Oh my dear, sweet Sam. I love him so much. Spying on Frodo and his master never suspected it! (I admit that I forgot entirely as well, aside from the one time he did get caught while trimming the hedges.) His loyalty is wonderful, and a reason any Hufflepuff should be proud to claim that house.

I agree, I feel like we've had to keep that quiet for FOREVER. Which is so hard when there is so much Pippin/Merry love! I mean, we obviously couldn't have just fallen that much in love with them in two chapters. Haha. But I'm so excited that our love can now be out in the open!!!

Must say I didn't realize how spoilerish the Merry and Pippin love would be for someone who doesn't yet know that they go with Frodo (luckily didn't really comment much on them). But I guess the excuse is that Mark fell plenty in love with them in the first four chapters already :).

And on a more serious note: although the reveal is really well executed and you're genuinely surprised at that point by them coming along, when you look back at the first four chapters, you do realize that it was kind of inevitable – no writer would spend that much time developing characters who would just remain sitting around the fire in Buckland for the rest of the book (although I'd read that…)

Once again, Alfred’s “oh, you have no idea”-line from Dark Knight was stuck in my head while I read this. Does anyone have a gif of that, by the way? That person would get to see a pic of my snow-velociraptor.

Only a short comment today and then I will pack up my notebook and visit my family.

I love, love, love this chapter! Pippin and Merry and Sam are the best friends any hobbit can hope for.
Never in a million years had I though that they all knew about Frodo's plans.
Yes, I assumed they would want to accompany him, but that they already knew and didn't try to convince him to change his plans. They knew all along that he would be in mortal peril soon and so they decided to be in mortal peril together. Wonderful friends, just the most awesome people. Again, where can I find my own hobbit? 🙂

I wont be anywhere near a pc for the weekend so I wish you all a wonderful Christmas now.
I hope you have a great time with a lot of food and songs and people who love you.
See you all next week.

Unfortunately, the radio version creates a bit of a plot hole here: the timeline of Frodo learning everything about the Ring is compressed enough that Sam would have had no opportunity to tell the others, yet this scene plays out exactly the same. Well, at least it's nothing really big, Harry Potter movie style.

I love Pippin’s bath song and his bathing antics! It reminds me of being a kid and trying to do that giant splash from the scene in The Little Mermaid when she’s on the rock and the wave breaks behind her. I made such a mess that I caused the ceiling downstairs to leak. And I would do it ALL THE TIME -_-

OMG! I have SO been waiting for you to get to this chapter!!! And now I am so HAPPY!

In just five chapters, I already wanted to reach through the pages and just hug all of these characters. I thought this whole book was simply Frodo’s journey, and that he’d meet new characters along the way. Instead, these four hobbits will head out towards whatever unnamed, unknown peril awaits them, all of them unsure what it is they are going to do. That’s both exciting and kind of terrifying, and they all acknowledge it. It’s part of the risk.

You have no idea! When I read this as a 15 year old girl, who only had a few friends and none of them best friends (I'd moved around a lot. My dad had been in the Air Force.) and that was the EXACT reaction I had. I fell totally and completely in love with hobbits then and now, 44 years later I am still completely obsessed with how wonderful these four particular hobbits are!

To see someone else have that same strong reaction to this scene somehow makes me feel very validated. I LOVE you, Mark!!!

Are we the same person? 15 years old 44 years ago, totally in Tolkien love? I tell people I have never stopped reading Tolkien. I have to visit several times a year and the parts I visit change with the course of my life. I like this part for the whole friendship and committment to do what has to be done.

Um, well, if you were living in Northwest Florida at the time, a you were a tall and big-boned girl with glasses who carried around a ton of books all day long, and also loved the Monkees, you might be me.

I am the Pacific Northwest version without the Monkees (Beatles and Stones) I look like a normal 60-year-old woman with a husband and adult children, just do not make a Tolkien reference around me. A complete Tolkien geek transformation occurs that can be shocking to the unaware and uninitiated.

In a previous chapter Mark made a reference about "Reading History". Yes Mark, you are reading the beginning of all things, the birth of Cannon and the Holy Grail of all Fantasy. Sometimes I just want to pat everyone here on the head, nod sagely, and say: One day Grasshopper you may understand".

I love this chapter. It's full of hobbity goodness and everything is beautiful and nothing hurts. 🙂

I like the description of the Brandy Hall as this sort of multi-generational home. I imagine it must've been almost like a huge hotel – three front doors! 😀

But as they looked it seemed to move and sway this way and that, as if searching the ground. It then crawled, or went crouching, back into the gloom beyond the lamps.

CREEPY. *shudder*

Anyway, Frodo and Co. reach his new house in Crickhollow (and props to Merry and Fatty for decorating it in a familiar way with Frodo's and Bilbo's things), and we find out Merry had prepared them a bath. And that hobbits have SPECIAL SONGS FOR BATHS. <3 <3 <3 It's just so loveable and warm and fuzzy.

"I suppose you three won't want mushrooms again?" said Fredegar without
much hope.
"Yes we shall!" cried Pippin.
"They're mine!" said Frodo. "Given to me by Mrs. Maggot, a queen among farmers' wives. Take your greedy hands away, and I'll serve them."

Aww, bless. I love the banter between the hobbits. And I love how Frodo calls Mrs. Maggot "a queen among farmers' wives". I can't help but picturing her standing majestically in front of their house, with a crown on her head and holding a golden soup ladle or something like that… 😀

And then the dinner is over and Merry asks about the Black Riders and Frodo reluctantly starts giving out the information – when it is gloriously revealed that they know about EVERYTHING.

The others looked at him in silence, and exchanged meaning glances among themselves.
"It's coming out in a minute," whispered Pippin to Merry. Merry nodded.

MERIADOC BRANDYBUCK AND PEREGRIN TOOK YoU ARE MASTER TROLLS AND I LOVE YOU. <3

Not only they know that Frodo is meaning to leave the Shire, but they also know about the Ring and poor Frodo is shocked into oblivion. (Although, props to Merry for being observant enough to learn about the Ring. Well spotted!) And then Sam is revealed as their "chief investigator" and it's absolutely gorgeous.

"Anyway: there it is. We know most of what Gandalf has told you. We know a good deal about the Ring. We are horribly afraid – but we are coming with you; or following you like hounds."

BLESS YOUR LOYALTY, MERRY! <3 <3 <3

So anyway, Frodo decides to start his journey immediately and go throught the Old Forest, which sounds really ominous. But the good thing is, he has four conspirators instead of just Sam, so it's easier to plan the logistics of the thing. I like that Fatty Bolger is staying behind, acting as if Frodo is staying in Crickhollow – it certainly might cover their tracks and hide the fact that Frodo has left the Shire. Plus he might get a message to Gandalf, should he appear (WHERE IS GANDALF, BY THE WAY???).

So they clean up, pack, and go to bed. And then Frodo has a strange dream that sounds almost like a premonition:

Then he knew that it was not leaves, but the sound of the Sea far-off; a sound he had never heard in waking life, though it had often troubled his dreams. Suddenly he found he was out in the open. There were no trees after all. He was on a dark heath, and there was a strange salt smell in the air. Looking up he saw before him a tall white tower, standing alone on a high ridge. A great desire came over him to climb the tower and see the Sea. He started to struggle up the ridge towards the tower: but suddenly a light came in the sky, and there was a noise of thunder.

That creepy description of the black figure crawling and swaying reminds me so much of Harry catching a glimpse of Voldemort drinking unicorn blood. (I mean, I know which one came first and all, but I read HP first so that's the reference I have.)

I moved this summer and I totally wish someone would have taken all my stuff to my new apartment and arranged it just the way it used to be, BEFORE I even got there.

I laughed so hard when Pippin was like, “DUDE, WE HEAR YOU MUTTERING ABOUT LOOKING UPON THE SHIRE FOR THE LAST TIME.”

Oh god, me too. I could just imagine Frodo brooding over a personally significant hedgerow, while Pippin and Merry roll their eyes and wait for him to finish. And I just want to hug them all, or at least send them a mushroom gift basket, for saying that they can't and won't leave him because they're his friends. Dammit, I love these hobbits.

I'm finding both The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring a lot easier to get into than I had expected (or, in the case of The Hobbit, remember from my first attempt.) They're really well-suited to chapter-by-chapter disccusion, and I'm happy to just absorb everything about Middle Earth. It also doesn't hurt that I find the main characters in FOTR really endearing. O blessed Meriadoc!

This right here is why I've been more excited about this project than just about anything else Mark has read. The chapter-a-day pace is perfect for LotR, because I'm never feeling overwhelmed, but I'm still making progress and enjoying the story. And there's enough density for us to have good discussion, even this early in the book. Even if those discussion occasionally break down to how we feel about mushrooms

Mark, your comments about the differences between The Hobbit and LOTR is exactly what I would have tried to tell you if you asked me to compare the two. I'm pleased that you like what you've read so far (I have a long attachment to the story).

I also like your comments about creepiness awaiting and the foreshadowing. I won't tell you anything about the foreshadowing. It took me a long time to make sense of some of the foreshadowing. It does add to the creepiness and sense of impending doom, doesn't it?

As long as you realize that you are unprepared, all is right with the world. It is cool to read you first impressions and relive the first reading of this story with you.

Thank you for that link! I remembered reading someone else going through LotR chapter by chapter before the movies were out, but I couldn't remember who it was or find the page again. I've been looking for it ever since Mark finished the Hobbit, but couldn't find it.

The first time I read this, I think it somehow escaped me what was going on here? I don't think I really knew the full meaning of the word "conspiracy", and phrases like "dried up and on parole" and "tough nut to crack" totally passed me by. I was, hm, 11ish…?

I remember because the SECOND time I read these books and read this chapter, I was absolutely floored (and I couldn't figure out what confused me the first time). It will always be one of my favorite chapters in the book. To me, the first chapter is a sort of build-up to the second, and the third and fourth are sort of build-ups to this.

And just to be sure: Mark, even though Sam is undoubtedly amazing, it is actually Merry who supplies those utterly magical lines about what 'trust' really means in friendship.

Oh and I forgot to say, I also LOVE the Buckland history lesson interjected into the beginning of the chapter. I feel like there's something almost cinematic about it; where in a movie the camera would pan to show the whole hill and surrounding village (as they approach on the ferry) from afar, here in a book the narrator 'pans' backwards in time and 'shows' the whole history of the area 'from afar'.

I love Frodo in this chapter. He's so completely clueless, and his astonishment that his friends know everything about this never fails to make me smile.
And can I just say: Merry, Pippin, and Sam are the best and most amazing friends anyone could ever have. I love Tolkien for showing friendship as such a strong and incredible tie, since I feel pure friendship is really overlooked and undervalued in modern stories, with that stupid phrase "just friends" being thrown around all the time. I love this chapter and this whole story for showing the power and beauty of a long-standing friendship and just how much such a relationship means for everyone involved.

‘You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin–to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours–closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo.

GAAAH I CAN'T HANDLE IT. The beginning of this chapter makes me cackle with glee at the knowledge of the hobbits being the best trolls ever, but that particular part of the chapter makes me turn into a blubblering mess Every. Single. Time. Everyone in the world needs friends as loyal as these.

I think slow burn is a pretty good description of the book so far – I mean, in chapter 5 of the Hobbit, Bilbo meets Gollum and they swap riddles and shit. In Fellowship, we're still in the Shire. And I appreciate that, too – it doesn't feel rushed and I think there's more time to really appreciate these characters and what they're doing and a lot of the levity that was never present in The Hobbit.

It's interesting because I loved the The Hobbit when I was younger, but even though I really struggled reading Fellowship years ago and abandoned reading the series, now that I've actually read LotR, they really are the better books.

Anyway, Merry and Pippin and Sam are the greatest. LOVE THEM ALL and how they don't need Frodo to exposit for them.

I'm kind of hoping Mark will surprise us with a review tomorrow, but on the other hand not trying to get my hopes up as, at least in the UK, it's still a Bank Holiday… ahhh well. It will be all the sweeter when it arrives!

This chapter is such a great example of how our good friends often know and understand us much better than we think. Even you think you're really good at hiding your troubles and keeping up appearances, your good friends usually have a pretty good hunch about what's really going on.
Merry and Pippin and Sam really are the greatest 🙂

There are so many other things in this review I want to comment on, but I have to first say that you should definitely keep using "bless my beard" – not just for the rest of your Tolkien reviews, but FOREVER.

WHEW, I remembered to code that at the last second. Forgot Mark hasn't seen MLP yet.

And now for something completely different: I have the LotR-relevant middle volumes of Christopher Tolkien's History of the Lord of the Rings, which is basically all of Tolkien's manuscripts at every stage of writing combined with an ongoing commentary by Christopher parsing it all out. I certainly haven't finished reading it all, but if I come across any entertaining and relevant stories about the writing process, I'll share them! But I wanted to ask the mods, is it cool to post some non-spoilery Could Have Been trivia uncoded? Because there are some writing artifacts (mostly names) that are HILARIOUS.

Return of the Shadow is the only volume I've read all the way through! The story is so rough at the beginning. Once Tolkien settled into a plot it goes so much more smoothly, but the revisions of the first 8-9 chapters are both intense and absurd. I love the sheer drama of which Hobbit families should be relevant to the story. GENEALOGY IS SRS BSNS.

Also, this bit: I thought this whole book was simply Frodo’s journey, and that he’d meet new characters along the way. Instead, these four hobbits will head out towards whatever unnamed, unknown peril awaits them, all of them unsure what it is they are going to do.

Mark, I think you'll find some uncanny parallels between this series and your current MW project, Buffy for exactly this reason.

Buffy's friends are as much a part of the story as she is, after they get embroiled in her Slayer life and her secret comes out – in much the same way that Frodo's gang found out by accident about the Ring, and now it's their journey too.

So, no Alan Lee Art again, but I have another landscape. It's called Last Sight of Hobbiton. I think its actually from the last chapter, but I wasn't sure, so I decided to be careful and wait. I love how mournful the landscape is, plus I always images of the night sky with the clouds partially covering the moon.

I think a lot of say it's really, really dense info-dump when we're trying to convince people to read LotR. Because sometimes the book is that, and that way they are prepared 😛 At least I do that ^^

But I think Tolkien does a great job of integrating the history into the story, and using the characters to tell about places and customs.

MERRY AND PIPPIN AND SAM! I love them to bits. They are so amazing, and they are such great friends to have. I don't think I have three friends who would go to Mordor with me. You can't just walk into it you know? ^^

I once again need to express my deep appreciation for your one-chapter-a-day reading method, Mark. Rereading this book in this way has, just like with HDM, The Hobbit, and American Gods, increased my enjoyment of it. I think it just works so well for absorbing things. In addition, I haven't actually read these since my first time, as a kid, and the ensuing years + what others have said about the density of these books made me remember them as being, I think, a bit more dense than they actually are. This is so fun to rediscover the journey! <3

That damn Black Rider is relentless, isn't he? It? YEAH WHAT IS THAT THING. I'm not sure humans have hobbit-sniffing powers. Well, at least, I don't. 🙁 Maybe it's different in Middle Earth? We haven't spent much time around humans, compared to hobbits, dwarves, elves, wizards, etc. Whatever the Rider is, though, is deeply creepy and ominous. I love how the threat of him/them (EEEEEK THERE'S MORE THAN ONE NO THANK YOU) hangs over them constantly. This is a much scarier and darker adventure than Bilbo's, that's for sure.

But! We also get happy hobbit fun. I love these guys so much. <3 Yay for more Merry, and yay in general for them knowing about Frodo's secret. He is not terribly good at keeping them, is he? And LOL, I love how everything can be blamed on the Sackville-Bagginses, and Merry says as much! Proof once again of how much they suck. Also yes, what they said about not letting him go off alone into danger and going with him: AWWWW. <3 Just want to give them all big hugs.

Since last chapter I've been worried about Farmer Maggot, and that line about how Bolger's part in this would prove to be dangerous makes me more worried. Speaking of which, he withdrew from the conversation during that little infodump and I was confused for a while.

Like you Mark, I expected that I'd get infodumped and sang at all the time. But it's actually just enough to show you some of the culture and history these people have to add to your understanding of their behavior. I really like that. And that you can indeed find out more reading The Silmarillion and the History of Middle Earth series.

"I’d heard it was so dense that it was akin to reading the fifth chapter of Genesis."

For me, it's not so much large amounts of info at one time than just LOTS of little bits of information all over. And names… TONS of names. I actually used the index in the back a lot reading this because a term or name would come up that it seemed I was expected to know, but had no clue about. Yay for indexes!

Given how much the narrative goes on about Frodo being relatively out of shape…that's impressive. I would consider 10 miles a very, very long day carrying a pack. Hobbits are tougher than people tend to believe.

I've lost the link to the sides, where you can "translate" the spoilerish Posts. I even have forgotten, how this code is called, so I can't google it. Could someone please give me a link again. Thank you very much in advance.

I'd just like to add my agreement to your relief at how non-dense the prose is!

When I first read LotR, I was totally preparing myself for a long haul. There's especially a certain chapter that has a reputation amongst people I know for being very dull, and I was particularly dreading that. But I found the entire book to be remarkably easy and fun to read! Sure, there's the occasional bit of history or backstory, but I found it interesting rather than tedious, and I didn't think the overall story was ever bogged down by it.

I guess it's a case of different strokes for different folks, but I've never had a problem with Tolkien's writing style, at least in these books.

Bless my beard, this book is wonderful.
—Everytime I see Mark write "bless my beard" it makes me smile, especially when it's in response to how great this book is. It makes me excited to share in this experience.

‘You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin–to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours–closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo. Anyway: there it is. We know most of what Gandalf has told you. We know a good deal about the Ring. We are horribly afraid–but we are coming with you; or following you like hounds.’

The sound I made at this was disgusting. In just five chapters, I already wanted to reach through the pages and just hug all of these characters.
—Oh, Sam you are awesome and we all love you for this. Frodo's friends are THE BEST! They really know the meaning of love, friendship, support, and loyalty. Also: Bu zna, Znex vf tbvat gb or hggreyl qrfgeblrq nf gur obbxf tb nybat. Ur'f nyernql trggvat fb nggnpurq gb gurfr punenpgref, naq V pna'g uryc ohg guvax bs ubj ur'f tbvat gb ernpg jura pregnva punenpgref ner vawherq be gubhtug gb or qrnq.

To add to the creepiness of the Black Rider, here's a John Howe sketch:

It is kind of fashionable to hate on Tolkien, usually for the same stock reasons as your Genesis quip, and this is a fact that honestly annoys the crap out of me. I mean, I will admit that at times he could have used a more proactive editor, but Tolkien's style has never bothered me, and in my experience, people who actually actively like books and literature tend to share in this opinion. Anyway, my point is that don't let people's opinions get the better of you 😀

I am seriously so thrilled that you are reading this. There is so much I want you to experience. I cannot wait for you to eventually read the Silmarillion, if you choose to do so. I mean, this is brilliant anyway, but if you had the WHOLE thing? It would blow your mind.

Thanks, I use rot13.com or just a simple 'tr' when I am on my *nix box. I was just wondering if there was something in-built here. It seems somewhat cumbersome to go back and forth, comment by comment to "unspoil" numerous comments.

I only recently found out about it, but there are extensions for browsers that make decoding and coding easier. I'm using Leetkey for firefox. It took a bit of messing with it, but now I just highlight the text and press Shift-E and it translates it. (I had to set that up myself.) Otherwise you can right click and choose what language you want to translate to. There are other extensions for Chrome, but I don't know what they are.

I think people who say that LOTR is "dense" and "like the book of Genesis" are either confusing it with the Silmarillion (which *is* much more detailed and Biblical in tone) or else they're the typical modern reader who is used to the modern type of novel, many of which often seems stylistically empty to me. (I mean seriously, some authors take "don't waste a lot of time with backstory/infodump" too far, and also no one seems to know how to describe setting — you're in New York, you're on an alien planet… I need to know what's different about those two place, mmkay?)

Anyway, I actually think that for such a huge book, Tolkien was very concise. Most of his scenes have just exactly the right amount of everything in them and no more.

*cackles* AHAHAHA, you are so not prepared for anything.
Fellowship is probably the densest of the three with a lot of information… I think Return of the King is longer than it, but it feels so much shorter.

Yes! I’m finally caught up on reviews, but I have to comment on this chapter. It’s such a nice respite from the tension and darkness of the previous chapters, and we get to see how close the four hobbits really are.

Even though I feel for Frodo, since I’ve been in the position of thinking I’m keeping a secret only to find out I’m being incredibly obvious, I always get a kick out of him flailing while the others just nonchalantly reveal how they knew everything all along. That was brilliant on Tolkien’s part, because not only does it save us Frodo explaining a lot of information we already know, but it shows just how brave and loyal Sam, Merry, and Pippin are. <3 Yeah, huge hobbit quartet fan here.

* I’d heard it was so dense that it was akin to reading the fifth chapter of Genesis.
I tried to read the whole Bible once. I got stuck somewhere around here. (I will do it someday, but I'll need A LOT of time…)

* It's odd, but I felt so bad for Frodo on this scene. He thought he was being all secretive and stuff, and it turns out everyone knew 🙁

* I was always confused by Tolkien's foreshadowing. Does he use it? Because I read somewhere that he just started writing and never knew where the story would take him. But guvf naq gung ovg ba Gbz Obzonqvy'f puncgre(f) feels like foreshadowing. Did he added it later?